The Days (And Nights) Are Long
by CrazyDriver
Summary: "She's always been big on change." *One-Shot*


Maybe it's mean of her to find the fact that Unique was the catfish completely hilarious. To be fair, Ryder did turn her down just so he could spend time chatting with someone he'd never even met in person. It sort of serves him right. (Like karma or something.) Kitty thought they were getting somewhere. She told him more about herself in that half hour at breadstixx than she had ever told anybody and it felt nice. He didn't judge her or try and comfort her with a fake understanding smile. Ryder listened to her and that's all she ever wanted, really.

Kitty only starts to feel bad for him when he stops coming to glee club. When he told everyone he was quitting she just assumed everyone would rally together to sing some cheesy yet inspirational song that would convince him to come back. She was sure the glee club would also add a tearful speech about being a family as the cherry on top of a quickly melting sundae.

Which, they did.

It didn't work though and Ryder continued his focus on playing football and nothing else even remotely related to glee club or singing. Kitty ends up seeing him the most and somehow becomes the one to give updates to the glee club about him. She's a cheerio and he's on the football team so they practice at the same time, ride the same bus during away games, and get invited to the same parties. So when Marley or Jake or Mr. Shue ask her how Ryder is doing, she always says the same thing.

"He's ok, I guess."

It's not what they want to hear, if the looks on their faces are any indication but it's the best she's got. Honestly, she has no clue how Ryder is because the two of them never were close and the only time they ever really talked was that one time at breadsticks that fails to be mentioned.

The cheerios actually get breaks during practice now that Sue isn't the coach anymore, so she sits on the grass and watches Ryder run drills but not in a creepy stalkerish way. She watches him walk over to get a drink of water and decides to head over. She needs to talk to him. She needs something more to tell the glee club then just, "He's ok."

When he sees her walking towards him, she can see him thinking of whether or not he should leave or wait for her to come closer and talk. Something keeps him standing by the water cooler though, and she tries to hide her smile.

"Hey, Lynn." She greets him while pouring her own cup of water. "You look good out there."

"Thanks," He says simply.

"So tell me," She starts and he smiles, probably because he already has an idea of where this conversation is going. "Having any withdrawals from not bursting into song lately?"

"No," He tells her but she knows it's a lie. Even as much as she hates glee club, leaving it behind would devastate her.

"Don't lie to me," She says in a sing song voice. "I can see right through you."

"It doesn't matter if I miss glee club or not." Ryder tells her seriously. He crushes his paper cup in his hand and throws it into the trashcan behind her. "Unique betrayed me. She lied for weeks and I can't be around someone like that."

"That's understandable." Kitty agrees. "But that doesn't mean you have to quit glee club. We all miss you, even me. It's not the same without you there."

"Well," He shrugs. "You're all going to have to get used to having one less member."

"Ryder, come on." She reaches out to touch his arm but he's already walking back to the field, ignoring her calls after him.

She decides to just meet him in the parking lot after practice so she can talk some sense into him, but when she gets there his car is already gone.

RKRKRK

It's weird but without Ryder in glee club, everything seems a lot less fun. Maybe she never realized how much he made her laugh by singing along to songs she never thought he'd know or dancing in his seat as if no one was watching. Or maybe she's just going insane and glee club has always been this boring.

Either way, Kitty continues to show up for practices and decides that she needs to give up on trying to make Ryder come back. He's made it perfectly clear he doesn't want to talk to her about it, and frankly she's over it. He's a big boy and can make his own decisions. Kitty is definitely done with him and his problems.

When she's rushing towards her last class of the day she stumbles into a solid chest. It ends up being Ryder who steadies her with a hand on her hip and when she looks up at him, he's smiling which makes her stutter out, "Sorry."

"You're good." He chuckles and her stomach does this weird flip thing before he continues walking down the hall.

Yeah, so maybe she's not done with him after all.

RKRKRK

Kitty is an exceptional student, if she says so herself. She's 3rd in her class and has never gotten anything below a B+ in her life. She works hard for such a perfect grade point average and a perfect attendance record because impressing her parents is everything to her and they don't expect anything less.

She is a Wilde after all. It's all about making her daddy proud in order to someday be a part of his bussling law firm. (No matter if she wants that or not.)

That's why when she hears through the grapevine that another cheerio, Angela, is throwing a party, she figures she's earned the right to go and have a good time. She's not a big drinker herself because she doesn't like the hangovers and Kitty Wilde certainly doesn't get sloppy in public, but she likes the dancing that comes with parties and watching everyone elses drama.

It shouldn't surprise her that Ryder's at the party too. He's standing by the kitchen counter, laughing with a group of guys that are on the football team with him when she goes to get a drink. It's obvious he sees her, but he doesn't say a word and looks quickly away from her. It shouldn't sting considering they've never talked much at parties, but it does. Maybe she's stupid for thinking they were, like, friends or something.

She doesn't want to think about it.

He doesn't dance much, at all really, which Kitty finds funny since he loves to do crazy dances after every touchdown, no matter who's watching. After a few beers she feels the need to tease Ryder about it, so she walks over to where he's been leaning against the wall and smiles, well, smirks up at him. "Not in the dancing mood? Or are you too worn out from all those touchdowns?"

He laughs at her teasing and maybe it's the beers talking, but she loves the way his eyes close and his head tilts back as he does it. She feels warm. "Maybe a bit of both."

"Or maybe you just need the right dance partner?" She hasn't danced at all tonight either and suddenly she's desperate to find out if he's as goofy a dancer in real life like he is on the field or if he tones it down for actual parties.

"Are you asking me to dance with you, Kitty Wilde?" He laughs, but not at her. He never laughs at her.

She doesn't expect him to say her full name and if Kitty didn't know any better she'd say he was trying to flirt with her. He watches as she trails the length of his arm with the tip of her pointer finger and waits for her to say something. "Depends on what your answer would be."

"My answer would be...let's go dance." He swallows as if he's nervous that after all this teasing and banter she's going to turn him down.

"Good," She smiles and takes his hand to lead him to the living room turned dance floor.

It's nice dancing with Ryder outside of glee club or performances or cheer routines where the football team is incorporated. It's not choreographed or on a stage with a million people watching them. It's just her and him, moving to the music which ever way it feels right.

She wants to bring up glee club when he walks her home that night. (Ryder insisted on making sure she got home safe since it was kind of late.) Kitty knows trying to convince him to come back will just ruin the night and he has made it clear that his decision is final.

Instead, when they make it to her front door, she tells him. "We miss you."

She doesn't have to be specific and he doesn't have to ask who exactly misses him. It's clear that the people missing him are the glee club, Kitty included. His eyes water just barely but he looks down and puts a small smile on his face.

"Yeah," He tells her. "Yeah, I know."

They don't talk again after that night and when the glee club asks her how Ryder's doing she just shrugs her shoulders and says, "How the hell would I know? We don't talk."

RKRKRK

They lose Nationals which does not surprise her. At all. It was a shock to her that they even won regionals, what with Marley's sorry excuse for an original song. (Girl can sing, but maybe writing music isn't such a smart idea. Just Kitty's honest opinion.)

Anyway, life at school continues on for Kitty except without biweekly glee club meetings. She focuses on passing all her classes and remaining captain of the cheerios instead. There are a few more parties where she sees Ryder but they dont talk let alone dance this time.

It's obvious he's heard about glee club losing Nationals. She wonders if he's as unsurprised as she was. There's a sadness in his eyes as they look at each other from across the room, but Kitty refuses to give him the satisfaction of asking him how he's doing.

Summer comes and she realizes she's another year closer to graduating. Next year she'll be a junior and she can not wait. She's always been big on change.

RKRKRK

Summer starts off great and then goes downhill fast. Her parents work all the time so Kitty barely sees them but it's not like she even cares about that. She's gone to a few parties but she's not about to do that the whole summer. So she gets a job.

An honest to goodness job.

It happens by accident really. She's walking through the neighborhood, bored as ever, when she sees the help wanted sign outside the little ice cream shop across the street from Lima's community pool. It's a small shack looking thing but it brings a lot of business since once everyone's done swimming they some reason end up buying an ice cream too. It's science really.

The girl doesn't even interview her, just hands her the hideous outfit and hat she's required to wear and tells her to come in first thing tomorrow. (She also mentions something about the hot lifeguards always needing ice cream to cool down so that's a plus.)

Either way she goes home and feels a little lighter.

Except for when she goes into work for her first day and realizes that the hot life guard her co workers always talk about is none other than Ryder Lynn. Normally, she'd expect him to be shocked that high maintenance Kitty Wilde is working for her money instead of giving her daddy a call, but he doesn't question it at all. He doesn't make her feel different than anyone else and that's something she's always liked about him.

He can make her feel ordinary and extraordinary all at the same time.

"Never thought I'd see you taking orders from me." He chuckles and she knows he's only teasing her. (Not flirting, definitely not that.)

She finishes putting the colored sprinkles all over his vanilla ice cream in a cup, not a cone, just like he asked when she looks at him over her shoulder. "I'm not taking orders from you, Ryder. I work here and you asked for an ice cream so I'm required to make you one. Let's not get carried away."

"My mistake," He smiles while handing her the money for his ice cream and wastes no time in taking a lick. "But thanks for giving me what I wanted."

His words make her shiver, maybe it's the heat and the combination of him licking the melting ice cream from his fingers that has her thinking...has he always been this attractive?

He starts to walk away and Kitty finds herself calling after him, "Keep an eye out for any drowning kids!"

She means it to be a joke and she hears him laugh all the way back to the pool but she still feels like a complete idiot.

RKRKRK

Ice cream becomes their thing.

He buys the same thing two times a day while Kitty's working. One vanilla ice cream with colored sprinkles in a cup, never in a cone. She wonders if he still comes around on the days she doesn't work, he probably does though. She's not that special.

One day when he comes to order an ice cream he's not wearing his usual (and very distracting) lifeguard swimming trunks. He's in regular clothes as he sits down at the counter and smiles at Kitty.

"The usual?" She rolls her eyes at him, already walking towards the vanilla ice cream machine.

"Of course," He smiles.

"No work today?" She asks to quiet that delusional part of herself that thinks Ryder came to see her even though he didn't have to.

"Nope," He says simply as she hands him his ice cream.

Other people start to come up and order so she doesn't spend much time talking to him. Ryder stays at the same spot though, just watching her work and serve people with a smile no one would believe she could put on without it looking forced.

When she hears one of the other workers tell Ryder, "I've never seen you order so many ice creams in one summer before!" Kitty starts to think that maybe she really is that special.

RKRKRK

The last week of summer is when everything changes between the two of them. It starts like this, the pool gets ready to close for the year at the same time the ice cream stand does which leaves her and Ryder jobless. For Kitty, that's not a big deal, this job was just to keep her occupied this summer.

Anyway, on their official last day Ryder comes up to the stand with a smile as usual, "Hey."

"You know I can't get you an ice cream, right?" Kitty teases him, gesturing behind her to the empty storage room. "We're all done for the year."

"I was wondering if you wanted a ride home." The way he phrases his words makes it sound like a quesion he's been too scared to ask through out the summer. He's seen her walk home, it's barely a mile and it helps clear her head, but he's never offered. She guesses all these weeks he's wanted to, though.

"I thought you'd never ask," Kitty laughs while hopping over the counter and walking towards his old beat up car. "So tell me, are you going back to glee club this year?"

"And here I thought you'd forgotten all about that." Ryder says with a shake of his head as they make the drive to her house.

"Oh, I never forget things." She says glancing at him from the corner of her eye. "Just like you can't seem to forgive and forget about Unique catfishing you."

She expects him to be angry at her for rehashing everything again, but as they pull in front of her house he just looks over at her and laughs. "You know what, maybe I will come back to glee club."

"Just like that?" She questions him because, hello, that was a little too easy.

"Forgive and forget, right?" His smile is so bright and infectious, Kitty finds herself mirroring it.

"Come inside." She tells him before getting out the car and making her way inside her house. It's been weeks of her thinking about Ryder and all the time they've spent together as enemies, acquaintences, and sort of friends. She wants something more with him, wants to explore all the possibilties between them, even if it's stupid of her to do so.

She's ready to take a chance.

"Where are we going?" She hears him calling after her as she climbs up the stairs to her bedroom.

"Listen, um," Kitty stutters. Her nerves take over and suddenly she's very aware of the fact that she's about to pour her heart out to a boy she sort of wants to be with. "I like you and I know you like me too."

"Really?" He chuckles and her cheeks flush.

"Yes," She says breathlessly, her arms crossing over her chest. "And I want to give whatever this is a chance now that you can't blow me off for some cybergirl, or Unique in your case."

"You never asked someone out before, have you?" The way he says it makes her scoff but he walks towards her and she forgets everything.

"Can you just tell me what you're thinking?" Kitty asks exasperated. The fear of being completely wrong and misreading all the signals creeps up in the back of her mind. Ryder might shut her down and the embarrassment would be unbearable. All that's keeping her together is the fact that she is Kitty Wilde and nobody in their right mind would turn her down.

"I'm thinking," Ryder answers her, pausing for a second. "We should date. Or whatever."

"Or whatever." She repeats his words with a smile.

They spend the next two hours making out on her bed and when he leaves she misses him more than she should. Kitty's used to sleeping alone, but she doesn't want to do it anymore.

RKRKRK

They don't owe anyone an explanation and there's not much to tell, so when they're met with confused eyes and bewildered faces in glee club and the hallways at school, they both just shrug it off.

It just happened.

That's what Kitty tells anyone who asks how her and Ryder ended up being a couple. For once, she is truly happy walking hand in hand with Ryder. He's back in glee and still doing football so they see each other a majority of the day. Ryder is a great boyfriend. He's loving, attentive, and everything she looks for in a guy.

She loves him.

Kitty Wilde is in love and she promises herself that she won't run away from it. She is going to tell him.

Soon.

RKRKRK

He kisses Marley for the third time and it breaks her heart. When will he understand that Marley will never feel the same way he feels about her? The way Kitty feels about Ryder. (Love.)

Jake punches Ryder during glee club when he finds out (Marley tells him. She always does.) and a part of Kitty is happy watching the blood dribble from his split lip.

He deserves it.

RKRKRK

"I don't want to talk to you."

He's keeping up with her so easily as she powerwalks down the hallway to her next class and that pisses her off even more. Kitty for sure thought he would quit glee again like he did after the catfish incident, but he doesn't.

Ryder's spent the last few weeks trying to talk to her, but what is there to say? She refuses to be his second choice. She's no consolation prize.

"Marley is always going to be Jake's, you know." She stops suddenly, saying the words slowly so they sink into his head. He needs to give up on the fantasy that is Marley Rose.

"I know," He agrees and he sounds so sad when he says it that her heart breaks even more. "I don't know why I do it. I keep making the same mistakes."

"Then get your shit together." Kitty tells him, finally losing him in the crowd.

RKRKRK

She wakes up to the sound of rocks hitting her window and she can't stop her eyes from rolling.

"You know my parents are never home. Use the front door, idiot." Kitty calls down to Ryder from her bedroom window. Yeah, she should be mad at him, but there's still a smile on her face. He always makes her smile.

She opens her front door and he follows her into her room without saying a word. It's not an awkward silence. It's comfortable.

"I'm in love with you."

He blurts the words out so suddenly, they almost knock Kitty right off her feet.

"No one's ever told me that." She whispers, more to herself when she realizes what this boy is saying.

"I messed up." He continues. "And you have every right to be mad at me, Kitty. But I love you and I never felt this way about anyone. So if you want me to leave I-"

"Can you shut up for a minute?" She laughs, feeling her eyes tear as she goes to hug him as best as she can in the darkness of her room. "You just told me you love me and didn't even give me a chance to say it back."

"Sorry."

"I love you." She whispers before tilting her head up to press her lips against his.

RKRKRK

Another school year comes to an end and summer vacation finally starts.

They're still together.

RKRKRK

It's three in the morning when she wakes up in Ryder's arms. Their clothes are scattered all over the room and it's a hot summer night but she's not wearing anything and she likes being close to him.

So she snuggles even closer.

"You ok?" He asks her with his eyes still closed.

"Mmhm." She answers simply. "Just thinking."

"About?"

"Everything."

RKRKRK

It's the hottest day of the summer so far which brings out the worst in Kitty. She's been a little nasty to the customers, but not as nasty as she could be so they should consider themselves lucky. She's toned down the bitchiness a lot. (Thanks to her boyfriend.)

"The usual?" She asks, finally putting a genuine smile on her face when Ryder comes up to the counter in his life guard uniform and sunglasses.

"The usual." He repeats as she goes to make his order.

One vanilla ice cream with sprinkles in a cup. Not a cone.

Sometimes not changing is good, too.

A/N: I don't how I feel about this one.


End file.
